


let your heart be light

by oopshidaisy



Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Christmas, Fluff, Gift Giving, Multi, truly tooth-rotting stuff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-25
Updated: 2020-12-25
Packaged: 2021-03-11 00:21:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 764
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28325997
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/oopshidaisy/pseuds/oopshidaisy
Summary: Flagrant violations of the 'no presents' rule in the Potts-Rhodes-Stark household.
Relationships: Pepper Potts/James "Rhodey" Rhodes/Tony Stark
Comments: 2
Kudos: 28





	let your heart be light

**Author's Note:**

> set in some nebulous post-im3 sweet spot
> 
> title from 'have yourself a merry little christmas' - and you should all totally do that even though in my time zone there's only half an hour left

“No presents,” Rhodey says, loud enough to break through the dream Tony’s having about having to build an Iron Man suit out of cactus needles. It takes him a couple of seconds to realize he’s not, in fact, stranded in the desert.

It helps that Pepper’s up, too, visible over Rhodey’s shoulder.

Tony blinks blearily up at them. “What time’s it?”

“Doesn’t matter,” Rhodey says. He’s dressed already, in a Christmas sweater that’s singlehandedly an affront to Tony’s taste in men. Pepper’s not much better: she’s got a pair of reindeer antlers on a headband. “We agreed no presents, and now JARVIS says you’ve broken your pact.”

“Less of a pact, more of a—informal. Thing. Did someone at least bring me coffee?”

Pepper hands him a mug, dark red and full of steaming liquid. Tony’s gulped down half of it before he realizes it’s tea, not coffee. He aims betrayed eyes up at the both of them.

“I should dump you both,” he mutters.

“Sure, man,” Rhodey says. “Right after you take whatever ridiculous, over-the-top Christmas presents you’ve bought us back to where they came from.”

“You don’t _know_ they’re ridiculous and over-the-top,” Tony protests, finishing the tea.

“It’s a safe guess,” Pepper comments.

“One time you bought me a baby alligator,” Rhodey says.

“I was _nineteen_ ,” Tony says. “I thought we agreed you’d stop holding things I did as a teenager against me.”

“You were twenty-five and you know it.”

“Your word against mine, and only one of us has an eidetic memory.” Tony stretches as he talks, twisting back and forth. “Are we doing _Merry Christmas_ , or are we just cutting straight to the arguing?”

“Merry Christmas,” Pepper says. “Take the gifts back.”

“It’s a no refunds kind of deal, unfortunately.” Tony stands and stumbles, still only half-awake, to the dresser, pulling out the two switches he’s made. One pink and one blue, because he’s willing to admit he’s a dick like that. He tosses each in the direction of its intended recipient.

“What is this?” Rhodey asks. He holds the button gingerly aloft, as though he’s afraid it’s about to explode. All things considered, he’s exercising a sensible amount of caution.

“They, uh—it shuts down the workshop.” Abruptly, the whole venture feels embarrassing. Maybe he should’ve just bought them both cars: everyone likes cars. He could’ve put oversized bows on them, or wrapped them in tinsel. He plows on regardless, resigned to the reality of what he’s done: “Next time I’m late for date night, all you have to do is press that button and JARVIS’ll tell me what’s what. You know how sometimes I just need a—nudge.”

Pepper’s biting down on a smile, and Rhodey’s eyes are unbearably fond. Tony takes a defensive step backward, searching for something—anything— apart from them to focus his gaze on.

“Tony,” Pepper says. “This is…very sweet.”

“Let’s not,” Tony says. “Let’s do breakfast instead. Who’s up for bacon?”

He feels a hand on his wrist, looks up to see both Pepper and Rhodey encircling him in a three-person hug. He stiffens, then gives in to it.

“You do realize this means no more working for three days straight, right?” Rhodey murmurs into his neck.

“Hm, we’ll negotiate,” Tony replies.

Pepper kisses him on the cheek. “We promise not to abuse our power. _Don’t_ we, babe?”

“I’ll think about it,” Rhodey responds.

Tony closes his eyes, settling into their warmth.

“So,” he says, “am I getting anything, or did you both follow the rules?”

“How’s about accepting our love and affection like a good little billionaire?” Rhodey says.

“And the vacation time we both booked off so we can take that trip to New Zealand you’ve been wanting,” Pepper adds.

Tony lets out a small gasp of joy, involuntary. He tries to cover it with a cough, but he’s not really sure who he thinks he’s kidding.

“Have I told you lately how much I love you?”

“Never hurts.” Rhodey squeezes his waist before stepping away.

Pepper hangs on a second longer. “And I’ll go on your stupid nerd tour with you,” she says.

“For the record, _I_ don’t think Hobbiton is stupid,” Rhodey says. 

Tony grins helplessly. “Sounds like something a nerd would way.”

“Takes one to know one,” Rhodey says, and he presses a quick kiss to the corner of Tony’s mouth before he’s heading toward the bedroom door, whistling ‘Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas’ as he goes. “Now, I heard talk of bacon. You guys coming?”

“Of course,” Pepper says, right as Tony says, “Yeah, always.”

**Author's Note:**

> wrote this during my annual christmas rewatch of iron man 3, which gave me big ot3 feelings
> 
> i'm on twitter [here](https://twitter.com/oopshidaisy)


End file.
